- More than 150 cases of Salmonella have been linked to Kinder chocolate eggs.
- The illness has mostly affected children younger than 10, and at least nine kids have required hospitalization.
- The strain of Salmonella, traced back to a buttermilk tank, is resistant to six different antibiotics.
The World Health Organization is watching an outbreak of drug-resistant Salmonella linked to a chocolate factory in Belgium.
At least 151 people, mostly young children, have fallen ill with diarrhea and vomiting after eating Kinder chocolate eggs made at a Ferrero Corporate plant in the city of Arlon, according to a news release from the WHO.
Although case reports have come from various locations across Europe, genetic analysis confirmed that the infections were caused by the same strain of bacteria (S. Typhimurium) found in a buttermilk tank at the plant in December 2021, according to the US food safety law firm Marler Clark.
Salmonella is a relatively common genus of bacteria with multiple distinct strains that lead to illness in humans. The salmonella strain driving the outbreak is an especially dangerous one, as it is resistant to six different types of antibiotics — fortunately not including the first-line drugs used to treat severe Salmonella.
At least nine individuals were hospitalized with severe salmonella infections after eating the affected chocolate. It's possible that more cases led to hospitalization, but the WHO only has symptom and severity data for 21 cases. No deaths have been reported in relation to the outbreak to date.
The outbreak has sickened kids across Europe
Health officials in the UK first reported the widely distributed Salmonella cluster on March 27. Less than a week later, the UK's Food Standards Agency published a recall notice for select batches of Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs.
On April 8, Belgian authorities shut down the production site in Arlon entirely, and Ferrero recalled all Kinder products made at that plant. The complete recall list includes:
- Kinder Surprise 20g and 3x 20g
- Kinder Surprise 100g
- Kinder Egg Hunt
- Kinder Mini Eggs
- Kinder Schoko-Bons
Case reports have been spread across Europe; as of Monday, the WHO tallied 65 cases in the UK, 26 in Belgium, and 25 in France, as well as a handful of cases in other European countries. One case has been reported in the US.
Experts have noted that the timing of the outbreak ahead of the Easter holiday could have factored into its wide distribution. Bill Marler, an attorney who specializes in food-borne illness cases, said he was not surprised that the outbreak reached the US, given Kinder's global reach.
"What is worrisome is that the vast majority of the people injured are children under the age of 10," Marler told Insider.
He also noted another recent salmonella outbreak in Israel. After joining the multi-country recall of Kinder Surprise eggs, Israel had a local brush with salmonella on the eve of Passover, Haaretz reported. Strauss, one of the largest food manufactuers in the country, recalled its "Elite" chocolate line a week later and extended the recall to include several other confections on Wednesday.